Campbell finished an unblemished regular season with a 6-1 victory over Mililani on Friday night at Hans L’Orange Park.
The Sabers (12-0) earned the Oahu Interscholastic Association West title and a No. 1 seed in the upcoming league playoffs, where they will also have a bye. Mililani (6-6), despite the loss, sewed up a No. 2 seed and a bye.
“Our pitchers were a little bit off tonight, but they made the pitches when it counted and we got the outs when it counted,” Campbell coach Rory Pico said. “I just got finished telling the boys that the first phase of the season is done and the second part is coming up. Everybody has a new slate and so we’re looking ahead.”
Markus Ramos, a right-hander who is going to Oregon unless he chooses to go pro if he gets drafted, went 41⁄3 innings and struck out five for the win. He had relief help from Darien Robinson, Dayton Robinson and Dylan Florentin.
The Trojans got burned on the basepaths in what was a close game most of the way. After stranding runners on second and third in the first inning, Mililani runners were picked off the bags in the second, fifth and sixth innings.
“Most of our losses, we’ve done it to ourselves,” Trojans coach Mark Hirayama said. “You can’t afford to make mistakes against a team like Campbell. You have to take advantage of your chances and scrap and claw. We’re going to see what we can do about making some noise in the OIA tournament.”
Sacrifice flies by Nick Sampson in the second and Ikaika Ganancial in the third helped Campbell take a 3-0 lead. Kekahi Reiny-Aloy chipped in with an RBI single.
The fight was still alive for the Trojans. In the fifth, Austin Dela Cruz singled and eventually scored on Bryson Arakaki’s sacrifice bunt, but the Sabers ended the threat when catcher TJ Takahama fired to second to pick off Noah Domogsac for the third out.
In the fifth, Campbell pulled off a double play when Ganancial, the Sabers’ shortstop, caught Taylor Inouye’s screaming liner and threw to first to put a damper on the Trojans’ comeback attempt.
Campbell added two runs in the fifth, including one on Reiny-Aloy’s RBI fielder’s choice, and one more in the sixth on Takahama’s run-scoring infield hit.
Ramos, the winning pitcher, talked about the road ahead.
“I missed high and I missed low today and it was one of my junker performances,” he said. “But my arm felt fine and I know I can do better. You’re only as good as your weakest link and our weakest link is strong. I think we will be a tough team to beat.”
OIA WEST BASEBALL
No. 2 Campbell 6, Mililani 1
At Hans L’Orange Park
Mililani (6-6) 000 010 0 — 1 4 2
Campbell (12-0) 010 221 X — 6 11 1
Ryan Ancheta, Cole Mayeshiro (4), Justin Ogasawara (5), Jason Shiigi (5), Dane little (6) and Thomas Nakatsukasa. Markus Ramos, Darien Robinson (4), Dayton Robinson (5), Dylan Florentin (6) and TJ Takahama. W—Ramos. L—Ancheta.
Leading Hitters—Camp: Nick Sampson 2-2, 2 runs; Kekahi Reiny-Aloy 2-3, 2 RBIs; Roy Clemons 2-3, 2 runs, RBI.
Pearl City 3, Aiea 2
At Aiea
Pearl City (5-7) 100 200 0 — 3 8 1
Aiea (5-7) 010 010 0 — 2 3 2
Carson Okada and catcher not reported. Ty Matsunami, Bronson Nekomoto (7) and catcher not reported. W—Okada. L—Matsunami.
Leading hitters—PC: Matt Aribal 2-4; Carter Hirano 2-3, RBI.
Kapolei 8, Leilehua 3
At Kapolei
Leilehua (4-8) 002 100 0 — 3 4 3
Kapolei (6-6) 103 031 X — 8 9 1
Jansen Dangaran, Jerin Po’opa’a-Adaro (4), Kaika Cordero (5), Raven Demmert (5) and catcher not reported. Kamea Wong, Zachary Collins (5) and catcher not reported.
W—Wong. L—Dangaran.
Leading Hitters—Kapo: Andrei Stoyanow 3-4, 2 runs, RBI; Corey Slade 2-4, 3 RBIs, run.